


dead flowers for pretty boys

by wtfwonu



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: "who wouldn't love jaemin?" type of fic, M/M, but everything's dying, he's genuinely trying okay, it's quite yukhei centric, lapslock, yukhei tries gardening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19098760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wtfwonu/pseuds/wtfwonu
Summary: yukhei really, really needs someone to help him with his gardening skills.





	dead flowers for pretty boys

**Author's Note:**

> yes i’m back w another fic featuring environmentalist jaemin 🥺 and no this one’s not sad yey!

yukhei wanted to give up. he was so close to giving up that even just a small, almost nonexistent nudge would be enough to do the trick.

he let his shoulders slump and lips pout as he stared at this makeshift garden on a small area of his backyard. somehow, he had managed to convince his mother to allow him to claim this small piece of land as his, with the cost of ten highly embarrassing minutes of him explaining why exactly he was suddenly interested in the art of gardening. now, however, after seeing just how big of a mess his garden looked, it seemed as if all that emotional trauma of his mom lecturing him about boys, love, and heartache was all for nothing, (“it’s just a stupid crush, mom, chill out,” he’d repeat over and over again).

anyway, enough about his mom. yukhei was in the middle of a crisis as he couldn’t even call this thing a garden! it was a small patch of land already visiting fall season, and if that didn’t sound bad yet, well, everyone should know that it was still early summer. fall was still a few months ahead, but everything was already.... dead in his land.

see, yukhei genuinely believed that he and his friends, dejun and minhyung, were up to something when they decided that yukhei should grow his own flowers. it was so that when the time comes, and he finally defeats his inner conflict of whether or not he should ask his crush out, he’d have the flowers on hand already! his crush would definitely find it cute and wholesome, wouldn’t he? the fact that yukhei took matters into his own hands and worked hard for the flowers to grow.

when the idea was out in the open, it was a foolproof plan. that was, until he stumbled upon the knowledge that he was, in fact, a... red pinky? he didn’t think the term sounded right but whatever the opposite of a green thumb was, that was him.

he had tried (and failed) four times already, and up until this date, he still hasn’t figured out what he was doing wrong! did the universe really not want him to ask na jaemin out? was he just that unattainable?

it was a wednesday afternoon when yukhei found himself feeling optimistic. he was sitting in between two shelves in the library, silently reading about what kinds of flowers thrive best during summer. a few books were scattered around by his side, some of which he had already gone through at least twice in the last week. he was nodding to himself while reading about the cyclamen plants (he scratched the back of his head in disappointment when he learned that they bloom best during the winter, so that was out of his choices now). and as it turned out, violas also grow best during the winter. it made sense now why most of his just died, save for that one little part that was still the size of a seedling.

but hey, it’s still alive somehow and that’s all that matters!

he continued looking through what flower seeds to plant next when he saw a person coming close. hearing the student rummage through the books near him, yukhei shuffled a bit away to give the person more space. he stole a glance upwards and choked on air when he saw that it was na jaemin.

curse the universe for making them cross paths on the one day that he let his hair fall naturally.

see, the thing is, he and na jaemin were friends. they weren’t close friends, even though yukhei wished for them to at least be that. they were more of casual friends; the type that you would just nod to when you see them in the corridors. the type of friends that smile at each other whenever they make eye contact but don’t really bother to stir up a conversation. the kind that was sort of awkward to talk to when you’re alone in a secluded area in the library, surrounded by books about flowers and looking like a little coconut head with your flat hair. but yukhei was determined to stay optimistic today. besides, his mom said his hair looked cute when it was natural, so thanks for the encouragement mom.

“hey,” he managed to choke out.

jaemin let his eyes fall from the book he was eyeing to wong yukhei and his messy hair. a side of his lip curled up as soon as he recognized yukhei. humming, he pointed at the elder boy’s hair and squinted his eyes the slightest bit.

“your hair…” jaemin trailed off, “it’s different today.”

to say that jaemin noticing the slight difference in his appearance had no effect on yukhei was an absolute lie. oh no, he was a mess inside, though he at least managed to stay remotely at ease in front of jaemin. or as motionless as he could possibly get. thus, he blinked in reply.

when yukhei didn’t say anything, jaemin felt alarmed. he made a waving motion with his free hand and gasped, “oh, i didn’t mean different in a bad way, hyung. i just meant that it’s not your usual get go, but you still look good!” jaemin explained. yukhei could only nod, as he suddenly wasn’t capable of forming any sort of words.

okay, so maybe his optimism was slowly going down today.

then, when jaemin found whatever he was looking for, he silently asked yukhei if he could sit in the area too. in his words, it was a different kind of quiet there compared to the slightly more crowded places in the library. and who was yukhei to say no to his crush?

so once jaemin had settled down beside him, they fell silent. both boys were quietly reading on their own, each completely immersed in their own book. he had finally found comfort in the silence, that was, until it really registered upon yukhei that he was sitting beside his crush. na jaemin was just willingly gracing yukhei with his presence, and was less than a foot away from him. all of a sudden, he was hyperaware of his surroundings: how their shoes were almost touching, how jaemin’s hand was just resting in the space between them, and how absolutely pinterest boyfriend na jaemin’s entire ensemble looked right now.

it was insufferable. absolutely insufferable. see, if jaemin had sat at least five feet away from him, yukhei would be able to steal a few glances without getting caught, but nooo, na jaemin just had to be an absolute sweetheart. he just had to have the kindest heart and not want yukhei to look like a loser sitting on his own.

how perfect does he have to be?

see, that’s the problem with na jaemin. he was so perfect! he had a heart of gold, was always willing to help others and wanted to be the best that he could be for everyone. he was both shy and outgoing, if that made sense, and that just made him so incredibly humble. jaemin was also so full of surprises and was overflowing with talents that no one ever knew what more to expect from him. and don’t forget the fact that he had flawless eyelashes and a stunning smile! jesus! how could yukhei not fall for him? how could anyone not fall for him?

ah, yukhei’s head was going overdrive again. sorry.

trying to ease his nerves, he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. he tapped on his leg, finding himself on the edge. yukhei knew that his brain was trying to make him do something, or say something, but he was fighting against it. however, as per usual, his mind had still won the fight.

“jaemin,” he said, catching the boy’s attention. the younger hummed and turned to look at yukhei, waiting for his next step.

yukhei gulped, _well, at least i’ll know now if my grand plan would be worth it!_

“crazy question but,” he met jaemin’s eyes, “do you like flowers?”

jaemin pursed his lips and closed his book. he turned to send a questioning look at the elder before choosing to answer. “i mean, yeah, i like flowers.”

he let his eyes linger on yukhei, which the elder had to force himself to lean back from. “doesn’t everyone?” jaemin returned the question.

“right.” he agreed. “flowers are fun.”

chuckling, jaemin nodded. completely losing interest in what he was initially reading, he set his book down and completely turned his body to face yukhei. “that’s an odd way to play them out but yeah, they’re quite fun. i really love spring because of how you can see the new life in nature, you know? and when valentine’s comes up during winter, god, i swear i love that day but with how they treat—“

yukhei’s phone suddenly rang, cutting jaemin off. the younger closed his mouth, gesturing towards the noise coming from yukhei’s side. mentally cursing himself for not putting his phone on silent, yukhei checked his phone and saw that it was minhyung calling. oh, was his mind full of curses right now. he couldn’t help but send jaemin an apologetic look before gathering the books he borrowed and standing up. he murmured a small _‘bye jaemin,’_ and matched it with a wave in jaemin’s direction then speed walked out of the library.

(“you’ve got to be kidding me. you have the worst timing ever, dude! you did not just call me and force me to walk out on jaemin all because you found another realistic conspiracy theory.”

“okay but listen! it’s about—“

“i swear to god, minhyung, if this is another flat earther thing…”

“it’s not, and we’re going back to that topic later because the earth _is_ flat, but this is about black mirror!”

“oh? i’m all ears then.”)

yukhei believed that people deserve second chances. and yes, even people as disruptive as lee minhyung deserve more chances too. yukhei was sure that he’s a good person as he almost immediately forgave minhyung for his unintentional sabotage. besides, at least he knew that jaemin was a fan of flowers now despite their conversation being cut short. he had come across such vital information, and now that he was certain of that, he was filled with this strange energy. like he was suddenly ready to ask jaemin out!

and he was at least sixty percent sure that jaemin would say yes. he was a kind guy, he wouldn’t turn a friend down, would he?

the next week, he found himself staring at his lifeless garden once again. much to his dismay, none of his attempts at reviving his flowers had much effect. they still remained, well, dead, save for that same little viola that was still fighting to survive.

when he woke up, yukhei was determined to finally ask jaemin out. they had talked a few more times in the last few days and grew a bit closer, prompting him to become at least a little bit more confident in his plans. albeit not being able to converse about what kinds of flowers he appreciated the most, he still enjoyed jaemin’s company and discovered more about his life. perhaps he fell deeper too after coming across the following information:

  1. na jaemin was an environmentalist and an advocate for animal rights
  2. his mother is a gardener so he know a bit (a lot) about gardening and would probably put yukhei’s skills to shame
  3. he memorizes the lyrics to ALL high school musical songs (yes, including humuhumunukanuka'apua'a)
  4. he can drive!
  5. he talks about issues that he’s passionate about (and recognizes societal issues!)
  6. he cooks well but can’t bake (guess he can’t be perfect, but that’s what makes him even more desirable)



now, however, as he gazed at his flowers, he felt dejected. perhaps the world was telling him that today wasn’t the day. that maybe he’d have to reschedule and take some damn gardening classes before pushing through with his plan. but dejun had called him a few minutes prior to his visit to his garden, saying that he better do it today no matter what or else he’ll just chicken out forever. there wasn’t even a specific occasion that would drive him to ask jaemin out; dejun was just feeling quite demanding today.

so with a sigh, yukhei fell to his knees and picked and trinmed as much flowers as he could. he supposed that presenting a big bouquet, albeit all dead, was better than giving jaemin a small bouquet. the bigger the better, right? he even practiced how to wrap it and make the presentation as decent as it could get!

as he was picking the flowers, he purposely left the little viola he’d grown attached to unbothered. he found the tiny plant so adorable he even gave it a name! he named her after the famous actress/singer, suzy. don’t ask him why though, it was just the first name that popped up in his head okay!

anyway, walking to school that day had him the tiniest bit embarrassed. in his hand was a bouquet of dead flowers, and it didn’t occur to him just how depressing the sight looked like from an outsider’s perspective. he only realized this when a strange man pat his back and said, “things are gonna be alright, kid.”

he figured that walking around campus would be totally chaotic too if he had the decaying flowers with him at all times, so he kept them hidden by the lockers near the gym while he had classes. he had also texted jaemin to meet him by the gym during his free time too, to which the younger replied with a short but sweet, _‘alright hyung :D in the mean time, study well!’_

jeez, jaemin was just so adorable, huh. yukhei could barely even focus on his lessons, he was too caught up with what to say and how to say it, as well as how to react to whatever jaemin’s response would be.

when the time came and the two were standing in front of yukhei’s gym locker, the air suddenly felt different. yukhei wasn’t sure if he was the only one that felt it but if jaemin ever did notice it too, then he did a darn good job at controlling his expressions since it didn’t look like it affected him. 

yukhei cleared his throat, “before i do actually show you, just know that i grew these on my own and—“

jaemin’s eyes widened and took a step back, “whoa hyung, please don’t show me your dick.” 

choking on his own spit, yukhei shook his head. they both shared mortified looks and yukhei almost screamed to disagree.

”let me finish, oh god, i’m not showing you my dick!” he groaned. he scrambled to open his locker and tossed the bouquet in jaemin’s direction.

now that the mood was completely destroyed, he wasn’t even sure how to go by this anymore. it was disheartening enough to have to give his crush dead flowers, but to have him think yukhei wants to show him his dick when in fact he was about to ask him out? yukhei now believed that he was a professional at killing the fire before it even ignites.

he fell silent once jaemin caught the flowers. he merely stared at the flowers in jaemin’s hand and sighed. 

the younger boy blinked as he took a good look at the decaying flowers. recovering from his initial shock, he tried to pick at them, and let go when he saw that it was so easy to do so (even for flowers that failed to bloom). knitting his eyebrows together, he turned to look back at yukhei, eyes puzzled and poking.

”you didn’t finish what you were saying, hyung. sorry.”

since yukhei didn’t meet his eyes, jaemin let his tone encourage the elder to speak up. he spoke softly, and if one listened close enough, they’d hear the small smile in his words.

yukhei rubbed the back of his neck in humiliation, this was definitely not in his list of what to expect on this day. he drew a deep breath,

”i planted the seeds and tried to get them to grow. i’ve been trying for a while now, actually, because i thought that if i wanted to ask you out then it’d be cute and meaningful if i grew my own flowers but see...” he gestured to what jaemin held in his hands, “it didn’t work out as well as i wanted it to. they just won’t survive under my care, i don’t know why.”

jaemin’s mouth fell open, matching his wide eyes.

”you did that for me?”

”i mean, yeah, who wouldn’t?” yukhei shrugged, ears still tinted red from embarrassment. he may have some icky traits as a person but yukhei was never a liar. he honestly believed that jaemin deserved the treatment he got from all those that admired him. heck, he deserved more than that.

jaemin blinked, wondering how easy it was for yukhei to decide to do something as sweet as this. he bit his lip and shook his head. 

“no one has done this except you.” jaemin replied, eyeing the earth colored flowers (if they could even still be called flowers.)

“and i don’t know, i’ve always loved flowers but i never really enjoyed receiving them. they were just irresponsibly cut from their stems and left to die at my hands, you know? but these might be my favorite. at least... they somewhat died naturally, right?”

yukhei wasn’t sure if jaemin just had heart eyes in general but he was looking at the flowers with such admiration that all yukhei wanted to do was go home and plant even more just so that they’d die and make jaemin even happier. it was a bizarre thought but he couldn’t think well while he was standing in front of this... this pretty boy that was enticed by _him_. by wong yukhei and his dead flowers!

“they didn’t barely survive. they didn’t at all.” yukhei mumbled.

hearing this, jaemin couldn’t help but let out a heartfelt chuckle. he stepped a bit closer to pat yukhei’s arm comfortingly. feeling this, the elder’s ears instinctively grew warmer.

“it’s alright, hyung. i appreciate it and you.”

yukhei nodded in reply. at this point, his mind was already fried. he admits that coming to school today, he wasn’t as optimistic as he usually was since he expected to be ridiculed for the lame attempt at a bouquet. but jaemin truly was full of surprises.

“but you’re not done with whatever you were gonna say yet, right?” jaemin looked up at him, eyes filled with wonder. 

“i’m not?” yukhei pondered out loud. he met jaemin’s eyes and it instantly clicked. “i’m not, crap.”

jaemin nodded and let one side of lip tug upwards. “you’re not.”

yukhei groaned internally at how much he was out of it today. he took a deep breath and faced jaemin, trying his hardest not to get his hopes up.

“do you wanna go out with me on saturday? we can go do whatever you want: movies, dinner, paint ball even though it’ll hurt–”

jaemin grinned. “i have an idea.”

yukhei blinked. “i’ll take that as a yes? that’s a yes, right?”

that afternoon, the two walked home together. or at least they walked five blocks side by side before they had to part ways. and the whole time, god the whole time, jaemin walked proudly with the dead flower bouquet clutched tightly on his hand.

-

you best believe that their date consisted of nothing but the two sitting on yukhei’s backyard, with jaemin teaching him how to properly take care of suzy the flower, along with her future friends that they could only hope would survive too. though, now that jaemin was here, perhaps they would actually stand a chance at living now! at least that’s what yukhei’s mom said when he caught sight of the two.

(“mom, do you not have faith in me?” yukhei groaned.

“oh sweetie, of course i do! you’re doing great, hei!” she exclaimed from her place by the door. when yukhei turned back around to focus on his job, his mother met jaemin’s eyes and sent him a playful look that read ‘ _he’s not doing well at all but we can always pretend he is’_ )

**Author's Note:**

> if u managed to finish this Mess then i hope u guys enjoyed reading it! and if u reach out n talk to me, here's my [twt](https://twitter.com/nchyuck) and [cc](https://curiouscat.me/wtfwonu) !!


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